Launch Scheduled Before December 21

Representatives from French Aerospace manufacturer Arianespace
tell ANN the final Ariane 5 flight of the year is almost ready to
send its cargo into orbit, as the mission has entered the final
preparation phase at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

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Ice And Rain Didn't Cause Mishap, But Didn't Help Either

No one was injured early Thursday morning when a FedEx Airbus
A300 became mired in the mud at Charlotte-Douglas International
Airport. Aero-News Senior Editor Pete Combs was on the scene as
ground crews first offloaded the cargo, then shifted the fuel from
the left wing to the right in order to lighten the load on the left
main gear, which were rim-deep in the muck.

Officials Say No Major Disruptions So Far

If you're planning on flying out of Newark, you might be in for
a wait... or, maybe not. Over 200 fuelers and other ramp personnel
belonging to the International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) walked off the job Wednesday morning at
Newark Liberty International Airport, after rejecting a contract
offer from Allied Aviation Services.

Tom Turner's Aero-Craft 101: What Should You Do When The Engine
Goes Silent?

"The propeller is just a big fan in the front of the plane
to keep the pilot cool. Want proof? Make it stop; then watch the
pilot break out into a sweat." This axiom has more than a ring
of truth for all pilots, as there is no quicker way to make a
pilot's heart skip a beat -- or fifty -- than to have the engine
quit while in flight.

Offers Alternative To Prosecuting Under Patriot Act

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would
carry a $250,000 fine and a possible 5-year prison term for people
who point lasers at aircraft. Proponents say the bill fills a gap
in the current law that does not specifically prohibit pointing
laser beams at aircraft -- evidently, relying on common sense (and
the Patriot Act) to dissuade those from doing it.

Communications Lost After Thruster Malfunction Puts Probe Into
Spin

An official with Japan's space agency announced Wednesday the
Hayabusa space probe's original June 2007 return date will be put
off for approximately three years, after a thruster problem put the
probe into an unexpected spin as it hovered over the Itokawa
asteroid it was sent to collect samples from.

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Will Start DAL Operations In March 2006

American Airlines has announced its plans for Dallas's Love
Field, matching Southwest Airlines' service from the airport to St.
Louis and Kansas City, as well as adding two intrastate flights to
San Antonio and Austin. The move, which was previously reported in
Aero-News, comes at the expense of several routes
American previously flew out of its hub at Dallas-Fort Worth
International Airport.

But Did That Make A Difference?

The Southwest captain whose Boeing 737 overran a snowy runway
when landing at Chicago's Midway Airport last week said he had set
the plane's autobraking system prior to touching down, according to
NTSB investigators -- something that Southwest discourages pilots
from doing.

Sources within the US Navy have told Aero-News search and rescue
efforts for a SH-60B Seahawk helicopter (file photo of type, below)
and its crew lost off the western coast of Colombia this weekend
have been terminated. The helicopter, assigned to the Helicopter
Anti-Submarine Squadron (Light) (HSL) 48 based at Naval Station
Mayport, FL, went down December 13 in international waters while
conducting counter-narcotics and anti-terrorism operations off the
Colombian coast.

First SAR Application For Helicopter

Helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky has signed a five-year contract
to provide four S-92 helicopters to CHC Helicopter Corporation, to
perform commercial search-and-rescue missions for the United
Kingdom Maritime and Coastguard Agency, beginning in 2007.

You've Been In Space... Not!

Apparently, America doesn't hold exclusive rights to
denser-than-average contestants on reality television shows (we're
as surprised as you are) as a British television show was able to
successfully dupe four unwitting contestants into believing they
had gone where no English plasterer had gone before: earth
orbit.

"It's bad for American Airlines, it's bad for our people
and it's bad for the people who live around Love Field. But we've
said all along that this is absolutely essential for us to do to
remain competitive... This is not something we look forward to
doing. We're not driving this -- we are responding to
[Southwest]."
Source: American Airlines Executive VP of
Marketing Dan Garton, on the airline's reluctant decision to shift
some of its operations from its hub Dallas-Fort Worth International
Airport to Dallas's Love Field, in response to rival Southwest
Airlines' push into Missouri following the easing of Wright
Amendment restrictions to the Show Me State.